Did you know that we spend roughly one-third of our lives sleeping? With so much of our lives spent sleeping, it’s important to understand which sleeping positions have the potential to be detrimental to your health. If you find yourself constantly experiencing back pain, neck pain, and/or fatigue, you could be sleeping wrong. So which positions are right and wrong? We’ll share a few with you today to help improve the quality of your sleep as well as how you feel during the day.
Best Position to Sleep In:
Sleeping on your back. While this isn’t the most popular position to sleep in, (around 8% of people sleep in this position) it’s the healthiest position for you. This position leaves your spine and neck in a neutral position, meaning there’s no extra pressure placed on certain areas of your body. Are you ready to improve your quality of sleep and cut down on the amount of neck and back pain you experience? Become a back sleeper.
Positions to Avoid:
Sleeping on your stomach. This is a bad position to sleep in for your neck and spine, as your head is usually turned to one side or overly extended. It’s difficult to keep your neck and spine in a neutral position if you’re sleeping like this, which adds extra pressure to your joints, causing pain.
Sleeping in the fetal position. This causes extra pressure to be placed on your hips, leading to pain when you wake up. While it’s one of the most popular positions to sleep in, this may be one you want to avoid if you’re experiencing pain in the morning. You can modify this position to be easier on your joints by stretching out your legs more, distributing the weight more evenly.
If you’re experiencing pain when you wake up and throughout the day, evaluate which position you spend most of your night sleeping in. Modifying your sleeping position can improve your quality of sleep, decrease joint pain, and help you feel more rested when you wake up.
